“ If I have been unfair to my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me,

“我的仆婢与我争辩的时候，我若藐视不听他们的情节；

“我的仆婢与我争辩，我若藐视不听他们的冤情，

“我的仆婢与我争辩，我若藐视不听他们的冤情，

我的仆婢告我，我也会讲公道，

我的仆婢与我争论的时候，我若轻视他们的案件，

我的僕婢與我爭辯的時候，我若藐視不聽他們的情節；

「我的僕婢與我爭辯，我若藐視不聽他們的冤情，

「我的僕婢與我爭辯，我若藐視不聽他們的冤情，

我的僕婢告我，我也會講公道，

我的僕婢與我爭論的時候，我若輕視他們的案件，

『我的奴僕或婢女與我爭訟時，我若藐視、不聽其情由，

僕婢與我有爭、我若輕視其情、

如我不公以涖下、使彼抱屈、

我僕婢與我爭辯、我何嘗使之負屈含冤、

“ If I have denied justice to any of my servants, whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me,

“ Suppose I haven’t treated any of my male and female servants fairly when they’ve brought charges against me.

“ If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me,

If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me,

“ If I have rejected the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me,

“ If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,

If I have despised the cause of my man- servant or of my maid- servant, When they contended with me;

If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me,

If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;

“ If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me,

“ If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me,

“ If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished.But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.

“ If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.And if a man knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.

Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.

Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly.

“ Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns.You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.

“ If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.“ When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty handed.Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the Lord your God has blessed you.Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.

passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat them as slaves, but you must never treat your fellow Israelites this way.

I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me.Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name.But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.“ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth.

Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master— in heaven.